His father, the late Justice Emmanuel Oseloka Araka, was a distinguished jurist. Among his peers are Chief Chris Ogunbanjo, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and the late Chief Rotimi Williams. He was the first Chief Judge of the old Anambra State and among those with 60 years of post-call experience before his death. Martin Araka, a lawyer, has practised for 24 years. An alumnus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Araka belongs to the famous Nigerian Law School set of 1988. In this interview with Adebisi Onanuga, he speaks on why he chose to study law and sundry issues.
Martin Araka comes from a family of lawyers. Besides his father, the late Justice Emmanuel Oseloka Araka, who was a distinguished jurist, there are other lawyers in his family. So law runs in his family.
They include his uncle, Justice Fred Anyegbuna, who was a former chief judge of the Federal High Court. There is also Justice Adefarasin, who was his mother’s sister.
“Obviously, I also have a lot of friends who are lawyers and some of them are very close to the family and are regarded as members of the family. People like G.C.M. Onyiuke, Chike Ofodile, Justice Lynda Chuba-Ikpeazu, Justice Ibekwe, Justice Nnamani. There are a lot of them and most of them reached the pinnacle of the profession. That also is my dream,” he said.
Martin, who has put in about 24 years into the legal profession, believes that he is qualified to be called an activist like most lawyers because he was involved in some activism and agitation while at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and in his practice. He said the urge to become a lawyer had been in him since he was a youth. “I can’t never imagine myself not being a lawyer. I have always had passion to become a lawyer since I was a youth. So, as a youth, I have always had the passion for law and planned since then to become a lawyer”.
Like his peers, the last 24 years of practice have been quite challenging to him. “Though there is a difference in the practice during the days of my father and now, it is not the same. You would find out that there have been changes and the perception of law is not the same. The problems are different and the government is not what it used to be in those days. From the bar and from the Bench, things have changed a lot.
On his role model in the profession, he said Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and the late Chief Rotimi Williams are his role model. He said Justice Oputa is his role model because of his judgments. “They are landmark judgments. Chief Rotimi Williams too. When you see and listen to some of his arguments, and read some of his briefs, you would find out that they are very challenging in the different areas of the law. What you find interesting is the law not necessarily the statutory and questions. When you look at some of the rules, the practical aspect of it, how do you apply some of these rules in a given situation? Then, presenting your arguments in a court based on some of the court rules and the law. They can be quite interesting and challenging, depending on what area of law that you are looking at.”
Out of the cases he has handled so far, the one he found most challenging involved Dr. Paul Nnodi and it has to do with proceedings for recovery of premises. “It was in 2003 and in this particular instance, we were dealing with a case whereby we want to recover premises from the person who is in occupation without the consent of the landlord. Ordinarily, we would want to go by the normal processes, by serving the statutory notices, then we proceed to court to recover the premises. But in this instance, we applied the rule on behalf of the litigant and based on the rule applied, the person was not a tenant of the landlord who we were representing. He was not known to the landlord. The landlord came and saw him in the premises. There was no contractual relationship between them. So, we felt it was an appropriate case. But when we were dealing with it, we found out that it didn’t really have any authority in Nigeria because it hasn’t been tested at all. So, we went to court and we got the order and evicted the tenant. Eventually, he came back to court again and he was able to set aside the order upon which we were able to recover the premises. But before he could physically come back and take possession, we had then appealed to the Court of Appeal and we were confident that the Court of Appeal would resolve the matter. We were quite fortunate that the Court of Appeal resolved the matter and the order of the High Court was then set aside,” he recalled.
Martin said his first appearance in court was in Enugu and he recalled the event of that day with nostalgia. “I was with the late Chief Andrew Anyamene (SAN) on that day and the experience was interesting. Chief Anyamene was leading us. We started the proceedings and arguments and cross arguments between the counsels from both sides. It was interesting when you watch lawyers in battle; lawyers are in battle in court but when they come out, you find out that there was nothing, that they are friends. There is that comradeship between counsels in those days, very strong too. But it is not as strong as it is today. Things are not as they are in those days. In those days, it was different. We observe all the traditions and they were very strong and binding.”
He said his most embarrassing moment in court was the day he found himself in court and discovered that the file he had with him was not the one for the case he came for. The incident happened at the Federal High Court, Lagos before one of the judges who was then the Head Judge of the court.
Martin said when a lawyer is caught up like that, the judge would know that he is not ready for the matter. But, fortunately for him, the other counsel was in court and so, was not ready for the matter. According to him, when the other counsel eventually came in, he sought an adjournment of the matter, that there was an affidavit he wanted to file based on some processes he wanted to obtain from the High Court in Abeokuta. For him, it was an intervening hurdle because the other counsel was not able to go and get the process. So, he asked for an adjournment.
Another was the day, he recalled, was when his phone rang in court. It was also at the Federal High Court before Justice Binta Nyako. “I had a fundamental human right matter before the court and we were in the middle of addressing the court when my phone rang from my pocket. I had to apologise to the court and at the same time trying to switch off the phone.
Speaking on obsolete laws he would want reviewed, Martin emphasised the delay in the justice system, pointing out that justice delayed is justice denied. “Anything that we can do that would enable us to expedite the procedure, to make them more purposeful and more expedient, I think would be in the best interest of everybody. You would discover that most of the time, the rules are there but counsels would always exploit it to delay processes and proceedings. It has a great impact on what people perceived from the law court when they cannot find justice. Because by the time you go there and spending five to 10 years, you have not even open trial on the matter. When you consider that and even at the end of the case, when you are not satisfied, you still have the right of appeal. And you insist on going on appeal, no matter how frivolous the appeal is. I think this aspect of our law, we have to look at it and if there is anything we can do to expedite it, that will be very helpful,” he said.
He supports the merging of the penal code and the criminal code being operated in the North and South for the uniformity in law. “You can see that one gives the judge the option of fine. These are some of the things that you see in the criminal code which will be very strange to the penal code. After one has been convicted of stealing that colossal amount of money, we are talking of almost N30billion, then you are giving an option of fine, N750,000. You might, then, not have even bothered to convict that person because you are actually telling the person to go home and enjoy his loot. So, obviously, there are aspects of the law which, you would understand that in the south here, because we have been able to improve in different area but down there, they may be behind.
“So, it is a good idea and for the purpose of uniformity so that counsel who go and practice can be familiar with the laws irrespective of the jurisdiction that they are appearing for, they are still familiar with the laws. So, since Nigeria is a federal republic and more or less, the same law we are practising, why then is there a need for the criminal law and the penal code? You see the justification again based on religious implications because we can’t ignore that aspect too.There are certain things that would be proscribed in their religion which we may not have any conflict with down here. But there, it is an issue. So, those are the little things we may have to take a look at. The social factor is also important in our laws,” he observed. To him, plea bargaining as being used should be codified so that people can understand it more clearly. “You know the parameter, you know the boundary. You know when you can apply it, you know how you can apply it and to what extent. But in this situation that it is not codified, we don’t know the basis upon which somebody is given the opportunity of a plea bargain. But, we understand that usually, we can see some antecedent of what has transpired.
“Usually in cases where the money involved is very large, and then the government is looking at a situation where things could be more expedient, to try to recover the money than punishing the convict himself, in that situation, especially in the case of a bank, when you have the opportunity of recovering a substantial amount of the money that has been looted from a bank, you can see the justification. But then, you have to remember that we are also laying a precedent because there must be uniformity. One man committing a crime here and then walk away with six months and another who was charged for stealing a mobile handset, you gave him 45 years. That is why I think there is need for some kind of codification so that people can appreciate and see clearly so that it doesn’t look as if there has been collusion or conspiracy to let one person go off and punish the other. “
On corruption, he asked, “ is there anything that is immune from corruption in Nigeria? When you are looking at punishment for corrupt acts and being very, very lenient, there is a tendency for people to know that there is really no punishment for corruption. I don’t see any agency of the government or branch of government that is immuned. What you then see is the individual character, in other words, the intention of the person involved. So corruption in Nigeria has reached a preposterous level and very little is being done to curb it. I think we can take a very strong position if we are really ready to fight corruption”. Martin is however not happy that the CJN has not been able to use her position to solve the Justice Ayo Salami issue. In spite of having served in the committee of former CJNs that joined other committees in recommending his reinstatement. He described the Salami issue as being more of a political problem than a legal problem. “Even though they are in court, but really, how long is it going to take the court before we can dispose of that matter in court? So, clearly, there is a legal problem there. The NJC has recommended that he should be recalled but you know, for that to take place, it is a political problem for the president to consent, and possibly members of the house depending on constitutional provisions regarding that particular question.
“But, at least, the president must consent to it. And there have been dimensions that this thing has opened between the political party and great players in our political firmament. Do we actually expect there can be an outcome out of this question? Hardly! Unfortunately, because Salami’s time is running out very soon. I don’t know for how many months or how many years. May be, another one or two more years at the bench. Besides, the disposition of officials who are involved does not seem to show that there is an intention to have him recalled irrespective of what CJN or the NJC might want done on the matter. Unfortunately, that is going to be a political question. That really, I think is the main constraint on the issue as it bothers on politics.
“So, one way or the other, it is a political question. And that, to me, is really going to be difficult. I am sure if it was purely of the judges, the case would have been decided and decision taken very long ago. He probably would have been back or we know clearly he is not coming back one way or the other. We won’t be having a situation where we keep on having an acting president of the Court of Appeal. We need to have something more practical and by the grace of God, we would get there.”
On insecurity, he believes that the issue borders on a lot of things. But that for it to be addressed, he would prefer to look at the issue more from the social point of view and from the fact of the gap between the rich and the poor. He said as long as we find ourselves in such a situation where people have so much money around and yet people are suffering, then there will be all kinds of social problems. According to him, “it would have been better if people are gainfully employed, if they have a means of livelihood. Then, the less we would be susceptible to some of these incriminations. I see it more as if we are talking of revolutions, that one day, there would be revolutions. If people are expecting to see revolution in the fashion of what happened in France or Europe, when they come out into streets, we may not find the change because Nigeria is very conservative. We are not likely to find revolution of that nature. But this growing insecurity, in the midst of so much poverty; somebody has stupendous wealth, so many cars driving around and people see this kind of things, it is a reflection of the state of instability in the system. Because when the money is not circulating, people are disgruntled. They react to it in different ways. You see pipeline vandalism, kidnapping or religious insurrection because these are outlets, ways for them to express themselves.”
To find solution to problems, he suggeted: “We really have to look at these things and know that if we want to build a society where there would be security, peace and harmony, then there are some of the things that need to be addressed so that there is more balance in the society, employment, access to the means of livelihood is available to the people. We are not saying that people have to be on the same standard. No. But the basics should be there, food, shelter and opportunities, education etc. should be available to everyone and if these are available, there would be less incrimination for people to engage in some of these subversive actions. That is why we need to address more of these issues, the absence of which are the criminal aspects of our lives. For instance, I recalled that after we had the subsidy protest, we found out that the investment that has gone into budget on subsidy was about N1.3 trillion or thereabout. But, thereafter, when they had this problem of Boko Haram in the North, then the government forwarded a bill for this year’s budget and for security and they were going to spend another N1 trillion. If they take that N1 trillion and invest it in the society, in things that can generate employment, things that can provide shelter or education, the society will be better than it is now. Go and look at the condition of education establishments, even the federal government colleges, they are appalling.
Remember what happened at the Police College? We only got to learn about the condition at the college because the President went there one day but will he appear at all Police colleges in the country? And that is where we are training the people to whom we are going to hand over our lives! There is no basic provision for them. So, if we are going to invest N1 trillion on security, how much are we going to invest on education, how much are we going to invest on some of these welfare policies that would impact positively on the life of the people? And I think that is more important but unfortunately, we ignore it all the time to our own peril. Whereas we invest more on buying guns rather than buying books all the time. We miss the point. We need to buy more books for people to educate themselves and to engage them more meaningfully. We need to create an atmosphere that would solve some of these problems that we are having.”
Martin also said advocates of a six-year tenure for governors and the president in the constitution are selfishness. “Every day, we are talking of amending the constitution. What are we amending in the constitution? We said four years. We have not even practised four years successfully. We are talking of amending the constitution because we are not satisfied with one thing or another; we are not satisfied with the man who is there. We are saying we want to amend the law. What is the meaning of that? How many years have we practised this democracy. We really have to look and understand that what we are doing is not the solution to these problems. It is not about changing our laws. I am not saying the law, as it is, is perfect. Of course, we can improve on the law. But I don’t believe the best laws that we can make in terms of constitutional changes can come from a partisan body. Because you discover that in their selfish interest, there may be a reason why some people want six-year tenure and are asking that the six-year tenure should kick off with a ban that governors or the president is banned from contesting under the new provision. So, who knows, is it to change the law to six year tenure or to stop the man from contesting. Is that the reason or the motive behind it? So, all these things should be considered. That is why a lot of the time, these changes by a partisan interest can be for selfish interest. It would have been the best if we have a non-partisan body to amend our constitution or recommend some of these changes so that we are not just changing because of our convenience but that we are changing in the best interest of the country,” he added.
